Living in the north of Brazil, facing an estuary of the Amazon river, I blog about Brazil and life in the delta of the Amazon. Serious issues with a wink to the sometimes light-hearted Brazilian society, including its curiosities and a touch of its beauties.

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The First Carnival Night of São Paulo

In the first carnival night of São Paulo seven samba schools went through the Sambódromo on 1st night of the special.

Rosas de Ouro
Samba school Rosas de Ouro (Golden Roses) brought its parade with the theme “Os condutores da alegria numa fantástica viagem aos reinos da folia” (The drivers of joy in a fantastic journey to the realms of revelry). In the 62 minutes of the parade, the samba school showed international events – like the carnival in Venice, Day of the Dead in Mexico and Maskara Festival in the Philippines – and national – as the festival of Parintins, the Junina Festival of Campina Grande, and Natal Luz de Gramado in Rio Grande do Sul.

Mancha Verde
The samba school Mancha Verde paid tribute to the many talents of Mário Lago, actor, writer, broadcaster and composer who lived from 1911 to 2002.
There were more than 3,000 components in the parade, divided into 30 groups, five sectors and five allegories. The samba-plot was played by Fred Viana. The master of ceremonies and flag bearer, formed by Jessica and Fabiano had a great performance.

The queen of the Drums was again Viviane Araújo, who is with the samba school already for eight years. Waggling next to the muse, the Master Caju commanded his 230 percussionists who paraded in dresses honouring the Lapa district. Another highlight was the muse Juju Salimeni, who marched with a body painting in which were embedded about 1,100 Swarovski crystals.

Vai-Vai
The samba school Vai-Vai made a toast to the Brazilian wines in its attempt to obtain its 15th title in the Carnival of São Paulo. After reaching the third place in 2012, this year the school showed its plot “Sangue da Terra, Videira da Vida: um brinde de amor em plena avenida – Vinhos Brasil” (Blood of the Earth, Vine of Life: a gift of love in open avenue – Brazil Wines). The parade had biblical references such as the transformation of water into wine at the wedding in Cana.

Acadêmicos do Tatuapé
The Acadêmicos do Tatuapé opened the first night of the Special Group of São Paulo. The tribute was for Beth Carvalho, but the singer couldn’t attend the parade for health reasons. Leci Brandão, honoured in the last edition, led the parade this year.

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Want to see more photos of the parade of Acadêmicos do Tatuapé click here.

X-9 Paulistana
With samba-plot about the union of races and cultures in São Paulo, samba school X-9 Paulistana bet on African, Oriental, European and indigenous references to please the public in the Sambódromo of Anhembi. During 64 minutes, the samba school paraded 23 groups and five floats with the theme of diversity and harmony in a show that featured specific colours for each race and the union of all of them at the end.

Dragões da Real
The Dragões da Real (Royal Dragons) led the meaning of its symbol, the dragon, to Anhembi. The 3,200 components of the parade with the “help” of figures from mythology, literature and film (“Harry Potter”, “Lord of the Rings,” “How to Train Your Dragon”) portrayed the history of dragons.

The animated “Dragon’s Lair” was remembered in a float, with costumes Avenger, Dungeon Master and other characters from the 1990’s hit. The animation “Dragon Ball” was another being pictured with members of the school dressed as the protagonist Goku. The cult of the dragon on oriental peoples and the Chinese New Year, like the Year of the Dragon, also gained prominence.

Águia de Ouro
Samba school Águia de Ouro (Golden Eagle) ended the first day with a tribute to singer-songwriter João Nogueira. The guild overstepped with one minute the limit for the presentation, which ended at 7:54 a.m., after 66 minutes on the avenue. One of the composers of the plot of “Minha missão. O canto do Povo. João Nogueira” (My mission. The song of the People. João Nogueira) was Diogo Nogueira, son of the honoured sambista. The godmother of the drums of Águia de Ouro, Cinthia Santos, lost part of her fantasy (clothing) during the parade. A support group came in and took the wing that had broken off. After that, she continued her performance as if nothing had happened.